We have witnessed firsthand the impact Covenant Day has made on our grandchildren and their friends. Covenant Day kids stand out. The reason we donate to an endowment is to allow for more kids to get this experience.
Endowed funds are tax-deductible, donated funds placed in an investment account for Covenant Day School. Funding is through scholarships to families who demonstrate financial need and meet specific criteria. Many endowed funds are donated for a specific purpose, see details below.
CEDARHOLM ENDOWMENT
The Clarence F. Cedarholm Scholarship En-dowment was founded to honor the life of Clarence F. Cedarholm, who dedicated his life to serving the Lord in a most humble manner. In the thick of battle while serving on the USS New Mexico during World War II, a Japanese kamikaze slammed into Clarence’s ship. Most of the sailors on his gun deck were killed. While lying wounded, Clarence felt that his life had been spared for a reason. It was there that he dedicated his life to full time service as a foreign missionary. In 1953, he set sail for Africa with his wife, Gladys, along with a three-year-old child and a three-month-old baby. After reaching the southern tip of Africa, he drove his family into the deep interior of Zimbabwe where he served the Lord for twenty-five years. Clarence spent those years starting churches, building schools, constructing a hospital, setting up a Christian bookstore, and doing a lot of one-on-one discipleship. Clarence dreamed that all children would have the opportunity to attend an excellent Christian school so they could be taught how to think and live from a Christian perspective. Distributions from the Cedarholm Endowment support scholarships specifically for children from missionary families.
REEDER ENDOWMENT
The Harry Reeder Scholarship Endowment was started with a lead gift from Christ Covenant Church to honor the legacy of Harry Reeder, who was Senior Pastor of Christ Covenant Church from 1983 to 1999. It was the desire of Harry’s heart that every child whose family desired it could find a place at CDS even if the family had limited financial resources. An an-nual distribution from the Reeder Endowment provides important funding each year for the school’s general financial aid budget, which is the primary vehicle for making a CDS education possible for many families who could not other-wise afford it.
RICE DIVERSITY ENDOWMENT
The Rice Diversity Scholarship Endowment was founded with an initial donation from CDS alumni parents Garry and Susan Rice, who had a vision for seeing increased opportunities for minority students in the Matthews area to attend Covenant Day School. Since that initial donation, other families who share the Rice family’s vision have helped to grow the en-dowment further, with the goal of expanding the number of minority students who are able to attend the school. Distributions from the Rice Diversity Endowment provide funding for significant, renewable scholarships to minority students with demonstrated financial need.
FAITH ENDOWMENT
The Faith Scholarship Endowment was started with a lead gift from CDS grandparents who observed firsthand the impact that a Covenant Day education had on their grandchildren. Their desire was to see more students ex-perience the same benefits that their grand-children received, and they recognized that many families are not be able to provide that opportunity for their children without signifi-cant financial assistance. Distributions from the Faith Endowment provide funding for significant, renewable scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need who also demonstrate the biblical values representative of Covenant Day School.
EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING ENDOWMENT
The Excellence in Teaching Endowment was founded with a lead gift from CDS alumni par-ents whose students were impacted in a signif-icant way by teachers in the CDS High School. The endowment shines a light on the powerful impact that excellent teachers at CDS can have on the student body. The endowment’s purpose is to provide a vehicle for recognizing one or more High School teachers for their demonstration of Christ-likeness and their dedication to their calling inside and outside of the classroom, among other characteristics of excellence. Distributions from the Excellence in Teaching Endowment fund awards to one or more high school teachers each year.
FACULTY ENDOWMENT
The Dr. Marni Halvorson Faculty Endowment was started through the efforts of a former CDS Head of School, Dr. Marni Halvorson. As part of her doctoral dissertation, she explored the factors that would be beneficial to re-cruiting and retaining teachers embarking on a career in education. She found that while college students who are considering careers in education are rarely motivated solely by sal-ary, they must be offered compensation that is sufficient to meet basic needs to enter and remain in the field. The Faculty Endowment seeks to provide a source of long-term funding for both compensation and professional development initiatives that are targeted towards teachers who are relatively new to the teaching profession.
MCKNIGHT ENDOWMENT
The H. Brent McKnight Endowment was found-ed in honor of H. Brent McKnight, CDS alumni parent, who served as an Assistant District Attorney and federal judge in North Carolina before his untimely passing. To honor his legacy, Judge McKnight’s family established this endowment as a way to fund programs that honor the principles for which Judge McKnight stood. The endowment supports both the Words Have Meaning Award and the Justice and Mercy Oratory Contest in the CDS High School. These two programs reflect the high value that Judge McKnight placed on the ability of young people to articulate what they believe, while underscoring how foundational the biblical teachings of justice, mercy and humility were to Judge McKnight and his work. Distributions from the McKnight Endowment fund the awards and expenses associated with these unique CDS programs.
ROPER ENDOWMENT
The Dr. John T. Roper Jr. Scholarship Endow-ment was founded to honor the life of Dr. John Roper Jr., who lived an all too short life dedicated to serving others as a physician and believer. Dr. Roper had a deep appreciation for the education provided by CDS, which blessed members of his extended family. The Roper family and friends began this fund to honor Dr. Roper’s servant-leader life, to pay tribute to Christ, and serve families in the community. Distributions from the Roper Endowment sup-port scholarships specifically for children from families with demonstrated financial need who are also members of Christ Covenant Church.
